So, as some of you know I decided to buy a second hand 5D2 some time after the 5D3 release. This ownership has been a little troublesome, and today it took another turn for the crazier. So crazy that I have to tell you.

Thursday 22rd of March: My second hand 5D2 with about 50000 shutter actuations arrives in great condition. Some scratches here and there, but I would've put them on it myself so no problem. The FF experience is great and the 5D2 works great, giving me lots of great shots. For 2.5 months it's all fun and fancy free.

Thursday, 7th of June: I go out after work in great weather to watch the marine traffic and generally just chill. I try to turn on my 5D2, but it's dead. I had the 50D as well, so I used that for the rest of the evening. When I got home I googled the problem and found several suggestions of removing the clock battery for some hours and reinstalling it. So I left it like that overnight. The next morning it was still dead, so I called a large camera dealer here in Norway and they pointed me to repair shop. So I shipped the camera on Saturday, I believe

In the meantime I get lots of time to test the 24-105L on crop. It works fine, but is a little tight.Viar a newsletter I am notified that the 5D2 has a discount in the webshop of the dealer I originally contacted about the dead 5D2. I wonder a bit wildly: "Should I just get a new one?!" As it turns out: yes, I absolutely should have!

Friday, 22nd of June: The online status of the repair is now showing that the repair is finished, free of charge. In the afternoon I get another newsletter from that camera shop telling me they have discounts and cash back on Canon lenses. I decide to order a 17-40L.

Monday, 25th of June: 5D2 ships from repair shop. I then find out it has been sent to my parents' house due to the fact that the repair shop had gotten that address via my phone number. Pretty weird! Why not just look at the return address on the package I sent? I really wanted to have the camera by Wednesday afternoon as some people from my company we're going boating that day.

Tuesday, 26th of June: The 5D2 package arrives my parents and I get I them to send the package to me with express mail. 17-40L arrives me. I put the lens hood from the 24-105L on it and took it out for a test. I ended up really liking the 17-40L on crop, at least in good lighting conditions.

Wednesday, 27th of June: 5D2 package arrives at work before 9 a.m. Great job by the freighter on that one. I turn the 5D2 on to confirm that it's not dead anymore! The info letter in the package only tell my some electronics have been changed. I am happy. For a little while at least. I put the 17-40L on it and take a test shot. The lower quarter of the image turns out black. I take another shot with the lens off. I clearly see the mirror won't raise fully. The sound of the return of the mirror is completely different too. I enter live view and the same thing happens there. I call the repair shop and they say they've never heard of such a thing, and insist they tested the camera before they shipped it. It's also clear that it has to be sent back. They offer to send me a return sticker so I don't have to pay for the return freight.

Friday, 29th of June: Return sticker arrives, package is delivered at post office. They tell me it will not be shipped until the next working day.

Monday, 2nd of July: Not until this day does the package move from the post office.

Wednesday, 4th of July: 5D2 arrives repair shop for the second time, at 10 a.m. At 3 p.m., after only five hours, I get a text telling me the repair is finished, again free of charge. I call them to hear what was wrong and what they had done. What was wrong they can't tell me, but the whole mirror box had been changed and everything adjusted.

Friday, 6th of July (today): 5D2 arrives at work at about 2 p.m. I swap the 17-40L from the 50D to the 5D2 and take a test shot in live view. Everything looks normal. I put the camera in my backpack and work until 3 p.m. when I go home. It's another nice day weather wise and I go out to test the 17-40L on FF. For the first shot I take I use the VF. The shot turns out crazily overexposed - almost a complete whiteout - and not because the camera was left in M mode or had exposure comp dialed in. I try a few more shots, all turning out almost white. Even at -2 EV they are way too overexposed. As I do more test shots I understand the metering sensor must be completely bonkers, as metering in live view, which uses the image sensor itself, works fine. I compare readings from LV and the VF and get a 4-5 stops too bright exposure using the VF. WTH? Do the repair people work the camera with their ass or what? Fix one thing only to screw up another.

So, here I am, still with a faulty 5D2. The electronics that prevented it from turning on the first time have been fixed, but at the expense of a faulty mirror. That faulty mirror was fixed, but at the expense of a faulty metering sensor. What next? Do I even want to send it in another time? How can I trust that it arrives back in complete working order, let alone makes it back to me before my vacation in two weeks' time?

I'm actually seriously considering getting a new 5D2 just to get everything in order right away. I'm not only tired of missing the 5D2, I'm tired of managing the whole repair process. Even if it hasn't cost me anything my that freight, it has cost me energy and time. Time away from my full framer.

Well, this almost turned out as a novel! Mad props to you if you read it all The story is so crazy that I just had to tell you all of it though

I read it all! One bad thing leads to another... if you really do need something working in time for your vacation, then yet another body might be the option although personally a 50D itself is still fine Still, if you do go for another 5D2 then hopefully when the repaired one is back again you can sell it on with minimal loss.

If I had to return the camera so many times and have to wait so long i would go in berserk mode. : They can't fix the camera from what I see and never will, it will just give you trouble and sooner or later you will have to bomb their HQ, and execute all of them.So if you still can RETURN the camera.Btw how much did you buy the camera?

If I had to return the camera so many times and have to wait so long i would go in berserk mode. : They can't fix the camera from what I see and never will, it will just give you trouble and sooner or later you will have to bomb their HQ, and execute all of them.So if you still can RETURN the camera.Btw how much did you buy the camera?

I haven't reached berserk mode yet thankfully! But I am extremely annoyed. To receive a malfunctioning camera from the repair shop was not okay the first time and definitely not okay the second time! I wonder what the repair shop has to say about that! I will also be contacting my insurance company and the consumer rights department - or whatever I should translate it to - to clarify my rights in the matter.

As for the price: Rather than translating from Norwegian Kroner I can say that I got it for about 70 % of the price a new 5D2 sells for today, and that included a sensor cleaning

lagnificent wrote:

Quote:

Well, this almost turned out as a novel! Mad props to you if you read it all The story is so crazy that I just had to tell you all of it though

Can I buy the movie rights?

Dead FrameA suspense thriller

Good one It will be a success for sure! We should get citruspers to join us - he has experience in making photography movies! And let's discuss the price after I get it back for the third time, shall we?

I will be getting a new 5D2. Either by just buying a new one and selling the old one when it finally arrives in perfect working order or by some rule stating I have the right to get a new product. Monday will give me answers hopefully

So, I ordered a new 5D2 today. Hopefully I can sell the old one at little loss when it finally gets fixed. I planned on keeping the old one until the new one arrives, but the repair shop insisted on getting it shipped back to them asap before their vacation. I asked them for a comment on how they could send back a malfunctioning product two times. I got none. If there were a "What have you just sent in for repair for the third time?" thread, I would've written "The troublesome 5D2" therein